5 Tips to Make Family Meal Planning Easier

Tip #1: Commit to a Definite Time Period for Meal Planning

Meal planning can seem like a daunting process, but once you have a system in place, you will be saving money, eating healthier, and having more free time to spend with your family. If you’re going to have success with this, you must make the commitment to devote a reasonable amount of time to meal planning so that you can get yourself into the habit as well as your family. Get your spouse and kids involved from the very beginning by getting their input for the food they’d like to see on the weekly menu. Check out the Domestic CEO’s How to Plan Family Dinners for helpful tips on how to get started.

Tip # 2: Assess Your Weekly Routine

One of the reasons that many households fall off the “meal planning” wagon is because they jump into it without having a plan. Find a quiet time when you can sit with your calendar and think about the following things:

When is the best time to shop for groceries? What nights call for a fast and easy dinner? What nights require something that can be kept warm and served at different times? When can everyone sit down together for a real family dinner? Which days can you do the kind of cooking that you’d most like to do? Once you have figured out what works best for your family’s schedule, you can make an actual plan.